Copy of The Best Class You Never Taught

The Best Class You Never Taught: How Spider Web Discussion Can Turn Students into Learning Leaders

The Best Class You Never Taught: How Spider Web Discussion Can Turn Students into Learning Leaders

Leaders is about how to generate and maintain student-led conversions in class by using a simple technique called Spider Web Discussion. The author, Alexis Wiggins, wanted the book to have a sophisticated, yet not overly serious cover that would convey the impression of a useful but easy-to-implement guide.

In appearance, though, a Spider Web Discussion chart is complicated and quite detailed. As a designer, the challenge for me when creating the cover and interior graphics was to find a way to illustrate the idea of a "web" of multiple lines highlighting connections between points of discussion that nonetheless did not resemble a Halloween spider web.

I presented several sketches and different color palettes and after conferring, the author, editor and I settled on a deep gray cover with multiple Spider Web Discussion graphics outlining the title. While the dark tone lends the book a professional and authoritative appearance, the bright green lettering enlivens the cover and makes the subject seem approachable and comprehensible.